"Nuestra Señora de los Milagros" Church
The Organ and Church History
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, Op 589, year 1886
The Organ
Unfortunately there is very few information concerning the history of this instrument.
According with the Maison Cavaille-Coll archives, a similar organ was sent to the city
of Buenos Aires to be placed at the church of "Del Salvador" in the year 1886.
According to Huybens catalog this instrument corresponds to the Cavaillé-Coll work Opus 589
(the only one sent to Argentina).
You can visit the site of the
Association Cavaillé-Coll to get the complete catalog of CC works.
Most probably this organ was lately reubicated inside the church "Nuestra Señora de los
Milagros" in Santa Fe several hundred kilometers far from the Capital City where we can find
it today and admire its beautiness. If we consider that both churches belong to the
"Company of Jesus" this assumption is highly probable even though up to the moment it has
been impossible to probe it.
We can conclude on the basis of the arrival date (1886) that this is the only authentic
Aristide Cavaille-Coll instrument in Argentina.
All the remaining Cavaille organs in our country arrived at the beginning of the
XX Century when the firm Cavaille-Coll was already in the hands of Charles Mutin.
An incredible proposal for transforming the action into electrical some years ago was
fortunately refused by the authorities of the church.
*** Aristide Cavaillé-Coll ***
The Church
The church of the Jesuitic Order in Santa Fe was consacrated in 1660 and it was part
of a vast building complex which also included the College.
The construction of the actual building started in 1697. It has remained in original condition
since then. The College has been reshaped some years ago. According to the Cronicles
of R.P.J. Guillermo Furlong (one of the most important historians in Argentina) the works
on the church ended in 1700.
In the north side of the church a tower was erected but it tumbled down in 1714. Eleven years
later, in 1725 a new tower was built (the actual one).
The main altar was constructed by the native indians who worked for the "Reduccion del Loreto"
in the XVIII century.
In 1767, after that historic decision of King Charles III of Spain the "Company of Jesus"
was expulsed out of the Rio de la Plata region. But in 1862 and due to some diplomatic
negociations they returned and both the church and the college continued under their
tutelage up to present day.
In 1925 small domes were added to the building. Also in 1936 two lateral galleries were
built side by side the main nave connected by arches.
http://cavaillecoll.flavam.com